Johnny Canuck vs Lords of the Underworld

Two years ago the Canucks were labelled the Devils of the West because they trapped so well and defended leads better than most Western Conference teams. I don't think the same can be said about this year's version of the Canucks. Not yet anyway. But both teams still have something major in common: they have been playing without their star goaltenders since November. The Devils have been without Martin Brodeur since November 1st, and Brodeur was expected to miss 4 months with torn bicep tendons. The Canucks lost Luongo on November 22nd.
Yet the Devils have done something that the Canucks have not been able to do: WIN CONSISTENTLY WITHOUT THEIR #1 GOALIE. New Jersey did struggle as soon as Brodeur went out however. They would lose 5 of their next 6 games. But then they would win 9 of their next 10 after the skid. The Devils are 18-13-1 without Marty. They have lost 3 of their last 4 games, but still, they have performed rather admirably without Brodeur.
The Canucks are barely keeping their heads above water without the god known as Luongo. They have a 10-11-3 record in his absence. They have not won back to back games since December 14 and 17.
Luongo could potentially play against New Jersey tonight, but it is speculated he'll wait until Thursday against the Coyotes to make his long-anticipated return. What a difference he'll make to this insecure squad.

Look at Scott Clemmenson's stats compared to Brodeur's. Pretty close.
Look at Jason Labarbera's stats compared to Luongo's. Not so close. But in the games Labarbera has played for Vancouver he has good numbers. In 5 games he has a .917 save percentage and a 2.80 GAA. The save percentage is close to Luongo but the GAA is not.

The Devils sit 6th in the tough East, 4 points up on 8th spot Carolina.
The Canucks are clinging to 5th spot in the West, 4 points up on 8th spot Colorado.

There are a lot of Canucks who are not 'rolling' right now.
There are plenty of Devils who are:
-Patrick Elias has arisen from the dead and is already approaching his points total from last year. He has 19 goals and 48 points in 42 games this year.
-Zach "attack" Parise is leading the team in scoring with 24 goals and 49 points in 42 games played. Tell me: How the hell is this guy only named to the Eastern Conference Allstar RESERVE LIST? Good Lord. A travesty.
-Brian Gionta is another player who has rebounded from a dismal 2007-08 campaign. He currently has 10 goals and 36 points in 41 games.

So if Luongo does not play we will have a battle of the backups. 2 teams with generally the same philosophy go head-to-head.

Can the Canucks put up a more consistent effort? I'm going to go with "yes". I also really doubt Sundin will take a late penalty this time around. In fact, given the rate of his improvement (and the fact that it's January 13, I think he could have a heck of a game.

Send the Devils back to hell...or...New Jersey. Same thing. :)

Speaking of that, here is a little song to get you into the mood:



GAME TIME: 7:00 PST
TV: CANUCKS PPV

T Tags: Canucks Devils Game+preview Brodeur Luongo Clemmenson Labarbera Devils+stats hell Satan Slayer

Sundin could play Wednesday against Oilers / Schneider sent down

A fan at the CDC forums heard on Team 1040:

Tom Larscheid just said that AV is gonna run with

Raymond Sundin Wellwood
Sedin Demitra Sedin
hansen Kesler burrows
Hordi bernier Jaffrey

Just listening to him on team 1040 , Thats gonna be the Lineup Against Edmonton.

Can't always trust forums, right? OK, so let's see what Brad Ziemer from the Vancouver Sun just wrote:

Mats Sundin will travel to Edmonton with the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, but won’t decide until after Wednesday morning’s game-day skate whether he will play that night against the Oilers.


Sundin participated in his first full practice with the Canucks late this morning and will work out with the team again Tuesday before travelling with the Canucks later in the day to the Alberta capital.


“We talked about it today and it looks like I am going to go either way,” Sundin said.

Sundin was non-committal when asked if he thought he would make his Canuck debut Wednesday night against the Oilers

“I don’t know,” he said. “I think after another practice tomorrow we’ll see. It felt good today skating. It’s how you feel tomorrow morning and how you feel maybe Wednesday morning and see how the body reacts when you skate at this pace. We’ll see.”

So don't bank on him playing in Edmonton just yet.
Mats practiced on a line with Wellwood and Raymond today.
What he said about Wellwood:

“Kyle is a very smart player as you guys have seen here,” Sundin said. “To me, he has got that hockey sense that comes natural to him. He understands the game, he understands where players are on the ice around him and understands where to go to get goals and assists and so forth.”

What he said about Raymond:

“He was flying out there today. I really enjoy his energy and his skating. He made some great plays out there. It was nice to have some young fresh legs out there, too.”

Demitra missed practice with a sore groin but will play against the Oilers.

---

From the same Sun article: Cory Schneider was sent back down to the Moose today. It looks as though Curtis Sanford is back. That being said, Jason Labarbera will start in his 4th straight game against the Oilers Wednesday. Good to see Alain Vigneault stick with the hot goalie.

T Tags: Sundin+may+play+Wednesday+against+Oilers Cory+Schneider+sent+down+to+Manitoba Curtis+Sanford+returns

The Save of the Year

I still can't get over that goal line save by Labarbera on Ribeiro last night. Unfortunately, Barbie's new buddies cannot bail him out once again. The newest Canuck is doing everything he can to give us a chance to win. In frustration, Labarbera told Canucks.com last night, "If you have any ideas to help me out with the shootout let me know." Keep your head up, Jason. You are making us proud. The rest of you bums learn how to score more than 3 goals.
Was that not hilarious listening to Tom Larschied after that save? "Oh, this is Luongo stuff right here!" he exclaimed. And you could hear Shorty laughing and squealing everytime Labarbera made a good or great save after that. Even after Modano barely scored on his shootout attempt. Larschied (who laughed out of pity), and all of us could feel Labarbera's pain.
Barbs doesn't give up on shots. That is admirable.
I keep thinking over and over again how great it is to be getting Sundin into the lineup especially for help with Vancouver's powerplay woes.
It will also help to get Ryan Johnson back. That guy is character personified.

T Tags: Canucks Stars review Jason+Labarbera save+of+the+year

Jason Labarbera's Metallica mask / Labarbera profile

I believe he first started using this mask in mid-December. You can see James Hetfield belting out a tune and Kirk Hammett shredding a guitar solo. There's a St. Anger fist just behind Hetfield and a Metallica trademark "M" on the front. There is the Death Magnetic magnet from the album cover on top.
-This is not the first time he's had a Metallica tribute on his mask, as you can see here. Nice.
-Here is another one.
-Looks like that mask also had the Hulkster on there as well.
-Last season he donned another metal-themed mask that had the St. Anger fist on top with Angus Young and Slash on each side.







Jason talks about his love of Metallica and wrestling in this clip:



More clips on Labarbera:

-This one is funny. Barbs is promoting Mr. Potato Head night in this clip.

-WTF? Timber! Labarbera falls over.

-See if you can get through this interview with Labarbera from 2007. I couldn't.

Labarbera links:

-Jason definitely wore out his welcome in Los Angeles, as this fan "appreciation" thread shows.

-Barbs compares his style of play to.....wait for it....Sean Burke. Oh no. That would be another goalie from Vancouver's Goalie Graveyard Era. I'm cautiously kidding. Let's hope Labarbera can play consistently.

-Labarbera lives in Prince George. How do I know this?























So...his teammates in L.A. and Manchester called him "Barbs" and that is the nickname he puts on his mask. What are some other names fans are throwing out there? (Sorry J, you are not going to like some of these)

- I've been calling him "Barbie" since the trade. But that's not nice. It'll stick though I think.

From the CDC forum:

- La-bra-bra
- Babar (I like that one)
- Burnaby Jason
- Labby
- Barbera
- Barbuzzi
- Brutus "La Barbera" Beefcake
- LOLbarbera (Kings fans called him that on the boards)
- Barbarella
- Handlebarbra (in honor of his moustache)


T Tags: Jason+Labarbera+mask profile Canucks Metallica Hulk+Hogan

Canucks - Predators Preview / Live Blog

UPDATE: A 2-1 win. Phew! Labarbera is the first star of the game. He is unfortunately affectionatly known as Barbie or Lady Baba on CDC's live blog. We'll have to think of something more manly.

Jason Labarbera will start in goal tonight...and hopefully finish. Curtis Sanford's groin problem isn't going away anytime soon either as he is listed as week to week. Sounds familiar. I sure hope Labarbera shows us something good.

Mike Halford of Orlando Kurtenblog has a great Labarbera profile post up.

If the Canucks are going to continue their win-one lose-one trend then tonight they'll beat the Predators. The Canucks have beaten Nashville twice this year: 3-1 and 4-0. Their 3-1 win on December 9th didn't come without controversy. The laid out some huge hits, and Burrows was accused of leaving his feet to hit JP Dumont, Davison accused of a head shot. What a game. Check out the highlights here.

The Preds just may come out with a feisty effort to gain some revenge.

"We questioned some of the hits. We were very public about that," Coach Barry Trotz said." … They are a good team, they are a physical team, and they are coming into our building and we have to make sure we win a hockey game, and that's primary." - The Tennessean

Yeah sure. Scott Nichol has missed every game since that devastating Rob Davison hit (pictured- Getty images). Concussion. He just resumed skating about 24 hours ago according to the Tennessean. Wow.

Vancouver needs the win to catch up to Calgary, who now leads the Northwest by 5 points. Nashville dropped a few slots and out of a playoff spot recently. A win for them puts them back in. Look at the dog fight in the West. Unreal.

Come on, Canucks. Win this one for me. I have a New Years Day hangover and I need something to cheer me up!

Game Time: 5:00 PST
TV: Sportsnet

Canucks.com liveblog here. I guess I'll post it here as well.





T Tags: Canucks Predators Game+preview liveblog Jason+Labarbera+starts+for+Canucks